An FIR has been registered against Anil Agarwal, the chairman of Vedanta Resources Limited, alongside company manager Devendra Patel and other officials. This action is linked to a tragic boiler explosion that occurred at the Vedanta power plant situated in Sakti district, Chhattisgarh, which resulted in the deaths of twenty workers, according to local police. The FIR has been formally lodged at Dabhra police station under multiple legal sections including 106 (causing death by negligence), 289 (negligent conduct regarding machinery), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Sakti Superintendent of Police Prafull Thakur noted that the FIR includes eight to ten individuals, with Agarwal specifically named. Thakur mentioned that should further individuals be discovered as having any responsibility during the ongoing investigation, their names will also be included in the FIR.
Incident Overview
The explosion took place on April 14, 2026, at the plant located in Singhitarai village. Reports indicate that a steel tube, which was responsible for transporting high-pressure steam from the boiler to the turbine, burst. This catastrophic event left multiple workers with severe burn injuries and unfortunately resulted in twenty fatalities, along with sixteen other individuals requiring medical attention.
Initial findings from a technical investigation revealed that the accumulation of excess fuel within the boiler furnace caused a significant pressure build-up, culminating in the explosion. The Chief Boiler Inspector’s preliminary report indicated that this excessive acceleration of pressure led to a lower pipe of the boiler being forced out of position, thereby causing the accident.
The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report corroborated that the high-pressure accumulation of fuel was a critical factor contributing to the incident. The laboratory’s analysis is crucial in understanding the underlying causes of the explosion.
